University of Richmond Law Professor Andy Spalding to Teach Seminar Related to 2024 Olympics at Top Law School in France
Spalding Will Explore Corruption and Human Rights Related to Paris Summer Olympics
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — Law professor Andy Spalding will spend two weeks in March as a visiting scholar at Sciences Po Law School in Paris, France. He is teaching a research seminar on corruption, human rights, and the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
Spalding’s research focuses on human rights and anti-corruption reforms in megasports, specifically related to the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cups. His book, A New Megasport Legacy, explores the ways international-scale sporting events can raise awareness about anti-corruption and human rights issues in the host country and lead to reforms.
“Megasports provide an opportunity to support social development and build a legacy of governance promoting accountability, transparency, and human rights that go beyond the sports and last long after the events are over,” Spalding said.
The research seminar Spalding will teach will examine the implications for anti-corruption and human rights provisions in France related directly to the Olympics and beyond. He will also interview other scholars and policymakers while he is there.
Spalding has received research support from the International Olympic Committee. In 2022, he worked closely with FIFA and led a United Nations-trained team of human rights observers in Qatar during the FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Spalding, who has taught at the University of Richmond since 2012, has attended and conducted research at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.
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